LPL 2017 Summer Playoffs Round 1 – IG Vs SNG

The LPL 2017 Summer Playoffs Round 1 started with 2 series. The first was SNG Vs IG. IG had a 1-0 advantage going into the first series. All it would take for IG to go through was 2 wins. When the teams met earlier in the split it was IG who came out on top, winning 2-1. This showed that SNG had the capability to win a game against IG. This would have certainly been in the back of IG’s minds. IG were feeling confident, however. Having the seed on SNG and as SNG were considered the weaker team, IG were expected to win.

The potential for an upset was on, especially as the patch switched to patch 7.16 with only a day to practise on it. Could SNG expose IG’s lack of experience on the new patch? One thing which would make victory difficult for SNG was, of course, IG’S mid laner, Rookie. This was the first time SNG had appeared in the LPL playoffs. As a relatively new team, only their ADC fury had experience playing in a series like this.

Game 1 – LPL 2017 Summer Playoffs Round 1 IG Vs SNG (1-0)

SNG put a lot of focus on the top lane in the early game. Unfortunately TheShy managed to soak up a lot of pressure without dying. This is a guy who replaced Duke as top laner for IG, which speaks testament to how strong he is. The first kill of the game came thanks to a beautiful hook by Megan on Blitzcrank. Despite masses of pressure from H4cker (SNG Jungler) both Mid and Top lost hard for SNG. Rookie should maybe change his name. West and Megan took on Fury and Yoon in the bot lane and came out on top. These small leads were transferred into

These small leads were transferred into the first and second tower and the game began to snowball heavily in ING’s favour. The comeback briefly looked possible after Fury picked up a quadra-kill on Kog’maw, after which SNG picked up infernal. Unfortunately for SNG a great macro decision by IG gave them a 22-minute baron which they used to snowball the game into victory. A strong early game performance by IG which was snowballed into their first win in the LPL 2017 Summer Playoffs Round 1.

Game 2 – LPL 2017 Summer Playoffs Round 1 IG Vs SNG (2-0)

SNG needed a victory in the second game to keep their playoff dreams alive. First blood again went to IG when TheShy and Ning dived XioAL. Then the scrappy fights began with SNG coming out on top with 3 kills to 0. A much stronger early game, perhaps because of mistakes by IG, meant they were in a stronger position in game 2. A lot of summoners were blown, which jungler could expose this? Rookie did what Rookie does best and solo killed fenfen. Followed swiftly by a repeat gank onto the flashless top laner of SNG and the game moves back into IG’s favour. It really was impressive by Rookie to solo kill

It really was impressive by Rookie to solo kill fenfen despite fenfen picking up 2 early kills to Rookie’s 0. This series was decided by the difference in the ability of the mid laners and the synergy between mid and jungle. Rookie seemed to be a much better mid laner than fenfen and seemed to be much more in sync with his jungler. SNG took some unnecessary fights in the mid game and IG gave them nothing to work with. Another exceptionally early baron was taken by IG and despite losing 2 barons it was enough to clean sweep SNG and advance to the next round.

LPL 2017 Summer Playoffs Round 1 – NB Vs SS

Neither teams were even present at the arena after the end of the first series, as it ended so quickly. Could SS shake off any tilt from just scarping their way into playoffs and take on favourites NB? SS looked strong towards the end of the split with their new roster but NB have been consistent throughout. In the pre-game lobby SS looked pretty happy. Were they just happy to be in the playoffs or did they know something that we didn’t?

Game 1 – LPL 2017 Summer Playoffs Round 1 NB Vs SS (1-0)

Patch 7.16 saw a return of Ivern into the LPL and it paid off immediately after an innovative clear led to first blood for SS. Had SS caught NB by surprise with this Ivern pick? The strengths of Ardent Censer were common knowledge in this patch so maybe Ivern was about to make a comeback. With Lucian in the mid lane and Kalista as ADC it made perfect sense to pick Ivern and to rush Ardent. The early game was slow even when the bottom lane of NB, using the engage brought to the table by Rakan, got a kill and they summoned Rift Herald to get first turret. SS and NB traded first and second turrets almost perfectly. An

An unnecessary fight in their opponents jungle led to SS losing a few kills and another mid turret. A 20 minute baron was on the cards as SS had Kalista, Cho’gath and 2 mountain drakes. Unfortunately, the engage by NB was strong after baron went down and only the support made it out alive. Despite getting baron the gold lead was growing in NB’s favour. The snowball was now unstoppable and NB and destroyed practically every structure of SS’s to lead the series 2-0. In the end it was the engage composition which won the game for NB.

Game 2 – LPL 2017 Summer Playoffs Round 1 NB Vs SS (2-0)

After a decent start by SS in the first game, NB managed to snowball a thrown baron fight and secure victory. Going into the second game the pressure was well and truly on SS. If they lost this next game they were out of the playoffs. NB were definitely looking stronger. NB struck first after a scrappy jungle fight turned into a 2 for 1 trade in favour of NB. SoFM had a rough start to the game and went down after more scraps in the top lane.

However, the potentially risky pick of Vayne wasn’t paying off in the early game for NB, as expected. Yet again the two teams traded turrets almost seamlessly. NB were slightly behind but nothing to get too worried about. It definitely felt as if scaling was on the side of NB. A fight around drake saw a great trade for SS and hope was definitely instilled in their roster. A 4 for 1 trade for a cloud drake is definitely one SS would take. 2 quick kills picked up for

2 quick kills picked up for Lwx on Vayne meant that their main carry of the game was now rolling. Yet again SS took a fight in the enemies jungle, arguably unnecessarily. This again led to a shrinking of their lead and NB were now only very slightly behind. SS had put themselves in a good position and exposed some of NB’s weaknesses. Unfortunately, they took some fights that perhaps they shouldn’t have and allowed NB’s scaling composition to come into play. A stolen baron by Swift and the follow-up ace was far too much of a swing in NB’s favour and SS never really recovered. A better game by SS but NB showed their dominance in the mid to late game. However, it was SS who threw the game into NB’s favour and it may be something that will haunt some of these players in the coming weeks.

Predictions for the LPL 2017 Summer Playoffs Round 2

Both teams that played today and progressed, NB and IG sailed past their opponents 3-0. Both teams seemed very strong but you have to remember that they were also easy favourites to progress to the next round. Out of the two teams, it was NB who struggled slightly more than IG and NB face up against WE in the next round. They really would have to bring their A game in order to progress past WE. IG face up against OMG and again it would have to be a great performance by them to get past OMG. Both games promise to be much more competitive than the games today.

IG are currently 2-1 up against OMG in the regular summer split. This shows that they definitely have the capability to defeat OMG in their quest to make it through the gauntlet into the World’s finals. What makes this even more interesting is that NB are also 2-1 up against their opponents, WE in the regular summer split. With both teams that are seeded behind their opponents showing that they’re easily capable of taking them on, this should be interesting.